US Stocks Open Higher, Boosted By Nuclear Plant Progress

KristinaPeterson

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks climbed quickly on Thursday after three straight sessions of losses, boosted by reports of some progress in taming the power plant at the center of Japan's nuclear crisis.

After falling 3.6% since Friday's close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 127 points, or 1.1%, to 11740 in early trading.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4% to 2653. The Standard & Poor's 500-share index added 1.3% to 1273. The industrial and technology sectors, which have been among the hardest hit this week, led the S&P 500's gains.

U.S. stocks were on track to post their first gains of the week on Thursday following reports of progress in containing Japan's nuclear power crisis sparked by last week's earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power said it had connected a power cable to the Fukushima plant and water shots were effective in cooling a fuel pool, according to Japanese media reports.

Hopes that the authorities would be successful in helping to bring the radiation-leaking nuclear facility under control helped trim stock losses in Asia. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average, down as much as 5% at one point, ended 1.4% lower. In Europe, indexes climbed in recent trading, with the regional Stoxx 600 up 1.8%. Germany's DAX rose 2.3%.

Meanwhile, the yen pulled back from a record high against the dollar, set early in the Asian day, as markets braced for potential intervention by the Japanese government to force the yen lower. The dollar had plummeted versus the yen shortly after the U.S. market's close on Wednesday amid talk that Japanese companies and individuals were buying yen to bring money home in wake of the earthquake. Japanese officials claimed the overnight jump in the yen was driven by speculators.

Group of Seven ministers will hold a conference call later Thursday on ways to calm global markets, Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said.

The dollar also weakened against the euro, which touched its highest level against the dollar since Nov. 8. The euro was trading recently at $1.3995, up from $1.3896 late Wednesday in New York. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against a basket of others, fell 0.8%.

Helping to boost sentiment in the U.S., international package shipper FedEx jumped 5.1% after the company's fiscal third-quarter profit slid, hurt by winter storms, but its fourth-quarter earnings target topped analysts' mean estimate. FedEx's third-quarter growth was led by gains in both ground and air services. Peer United Parcel Service rose 2.7%.

U.S. economic data was mixed, the government's weekly report on the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment showed a bigger-than-expected drop last week. Initial jobless claims fell 16,000 to 385,000 in the week ended March 12. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast claims would fall only 9,000 in the week ending March 12.

However, U.S. consumer prices rose in February at their fastest pace since mid-2009 as energy and food prices continued to move higher. The seasonally adjusted consumer price index last month increased by 0.5% from January, while the core consumer price index rose by 0.2%. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.5% in February and the core consumer price index to gain 0.1%. Industrial production in February unexpectedly declined 0.1%, surprising economists who had predicted a rise of 0.6%. Industries used 76.3% of their capacity last month, just under the 76.5% expected reading.

Among stocks in focus, Winnebago fell 3.3% after the recreational-vehicle maker's fiscal second-quarter earnings jumped sharply, beating analysts' estimates, as the company benefited from higher prices and less in the way of promotions, but revenue declined.

Guess plunged 9.6% after its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 19% on continued strength overseas, but the apparel maker's comparable sales at its larger U.S. retail business declined, and it gave a weak outlook for earnings this year and for the current quarter's results.

Demand for U.S. Treasurys slipped, pushing yield on the 10-year note up to 3.25%.

Crude-oil prices rose to just below $100 a barrel, while gold futures also climbed.

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